86 EVERGREEN Autumn Noel Purcell and Jack Hawkins filmed major scenes in New Zealand. (continued) bonneted women donned sunglasses and carried cameras over their leg-ofmutton sleeves on their daily beach strolls. Tattooed Maori warriors with fearsome warpaint and grubbylooking sailors with jelly-bag hats happily mingled with other extras and those on family outings. Farm animals, which included a four-weekold lamb, grazed in the shade under the pohutukawa trees. Hawkins and Noel Purcell smiled for snaps for family albums and

2017 EVERGREEN 87 In one scene, Laya Raki speared a fish. signed autographs when not filming, while Laya Raki lived up to public expectations of a gorgeous film star when she emerged wearing a skimpy bikini. The weather at Otarawairere Bay brought hours of waiting for the right light, an experience locals working as extras found not such a glamorous aspect of their job. Crowds lined the rope barriers on either side of the camera trolley when the sun reappeared. Small boys with a fishing line and a dog were reported as walking into a shot at the wrong moment, and getting chased out of the camera’s range by spear-wielding Maori extras emitting bloodcurdling oaths. Scenes were photographed from different angles, and were of short duration. Assistant director Peter Manley was heard saying “that was grand, just grand, ladies and gentlemen, but we’ll have to do it again” so often that his words developed into a catchphrase for those watching from the beach. Weeks of searching for props in the Whakatane area preceded the actual filming. The three Maori war canoes were refurbished and repainted in the local army drill hall — one was found used as a culvert on a dusty farm road. Costume designer Julie Harris solved the problem of too few piupius — the flax skirts worn by Maori women — by stringing together drinking straws painted with black highlights. While they looked real through the camera lens, they lacked the swishing sound of actual piupius when in motion. Cameraman Peter Hennessy said he had been to New Zealand before, visiting his father who lived in Christchurch. He praised the new Eastman colour for the softer, more

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